Aleppo, Donald Trump, ‘Brexit’: Your Thursday Briefing

Aleppo Activists Say Final Goodbyes as Assad Closes In

Syrian government forces had reclaimed most of rebel-held eastern Aleppo by Tuesday, in a fierce battle. Activists and civilians in the last opposition-controlled areas posted videos describing their fear.

By YARA BISHARA and MEGAN SPECIA on Publish Date December 13, 2016.
Photo by George Ourfalian/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images.
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• A deal to end the brutal assaults on the Syrian city of Aleppo fell through, and artillery shelling resumed. It was the latest bitter whiplash for the thousands of civilians and medical staff members unable to flee the ruined city for territory held by the Russian-backed government.

Activists shared desperate video messages. See some in the video above. We collected the WhatsApp messages of a teacher, which offer a glimpse of the last days of rebel control.

• Yahoo disclosed that 1 billion user accounts were hacked in 2013. The admission follows a disclosure in September that 500 million user accounts were separately hacked in 2014. The two attacks are the largest known security breaches of one company’s computer network.

• The Algerian government is coming under criticism for its treatment of a freelance British-Algerian journalist, who died after being imprisoned under a draconian new law that criminalizes offending the president. [The New York Times]

• Terrorism suspects in Strasbourg, France, were decently paid men in their 30s with no warning signs of radicalization. [The New York Times]

• In the U.S. state of North Carolina, Republican lawmakers took the highly unusual step of moving to strip some power from the incoming Democratic governor. [The New York Times]

Photo

Credit
Toru Hanai/Reuters

• President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is in Japan for two days of talks, hoping for progress in a decades-old territorial dispute. [Nikkei Asian Review]

• Hundreds of ancient Crimean treasures on loan in the Netherlands are the property of Ukraine and should not be sent to Russian-controlled Crimea, a Dutch court ruled. [The New York Times]

• Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system is due to go live today. [France24]

• A buoy floating between Iceland and Britain detected a wave about six stories high, one of the highest ever recorded. [BBC]

Back Story

The death of John Glenn has resurfaced memories of his famous orbit of Earth in 1962. Back then, there wasn’t much debris to block his view or threaten his spacecraft.

Not so anymore.

Humans have created millions of pieces of so-called “space junk” during the past 60 years of space exploration. While most are less than 10 centimeters, or about four inches, in diameter, even tiny objects can threaten spacecraft and communications satellites.

“Going at 17,500 miles per hour, a little marble can wipe out a space station,” said John Crassidis, a University at Buffalo engineering professor.

When bits of junk collide, they often break apart, creating more debris. Adding to the clutter is the abundance of satellites that technology companies are launching.

NASA has called for stronger international regulations. “It’s a political mess,” Dr. Crassidis said.

Japan, though, is stepping forward to confront the challenge.

Last week its national space agency launched a spacecraft featuring a cable 700 meters long, or almost 2,300 feet, that can safely guide debris into Earth’s atmosphere.

If the mission works, it could lead to more innovative approaches, like one a Japanese entrepreneur, above, recently discussed with The Times. He wants his company to be the leader in extraterrestrial trash collection.